Intestinal clamps and the like



Oct. 5, 1965 0,5. HAWKINS ETAL 3,209,753

INTESTINAL CLAMPS AND THE LIKE Filed May 4, 1962 1220822302 8.-floMB.HwM,

Jag; 11m, 6y I 7 ffor ueg United States Patent 3,209,753 INTESTINALCLAMPS AND THE LIKE Donald B. Hawkins, Shermans Point, Camden, and JayS. Hanna, Spear St., Ro'ckport, Maine Filed May 4, 1962, Ser. No.192,511 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-321) The present invention relates to clampsfor use in handling viscera.

As illustrative of uses of clamps in accordance with the invention, itis often necessary to grip the intestines in surgery, to enable them tobe so moved as to expose the area of surgical attack. A typical clamp,for such uses, has a pair of arms that are pivotally interconnectedbetween their handle ends and their tissue engaging members and includesmeans releasably holding their tissue members in clamping relationship.Such clamps are satisfactory in use but have the objectionable featurethat their tissue engaging members create the risk of abrading,perforating, or tearing the serosal surfaces in the event they slip asthe intestines are being tractioned.

The principal objective of the present invention is to minimize therisks of injury to viscera while they are held by clamps. This objectiveis attained by providing the clamp arms with tissue engaging memberswhich are dimensioned to enable a substantial area of the tissue of aviscus to be gripped. The members are imperforate and smooth surfacedand at least one of them is marginally curved away from the other, froma relatively small central zone so that, when the clamp is applied,there is a correspondingly small central zone of greatest holdingpressure with the pressure constantly decreasing towards oppositemargins. As a consequence, the tissue engaging members are without anysharp line of demarcation between the zone to which pressure is appliedand the surrounding soft tissue thus minimizing the risk of injury tothe gripped viscus in the case of slippage or even slight relativemovement of the tissue engaging members relative thereto, as when aclamp is being released, while ensuring that adequate holding pressureis applied to the viscus.

In the accompanying drawings, there are shown illustrative embodimentsof the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novelfeatures, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan elevation of a clamp in accordance with theinvention,

FIGURE 2 is an edge view thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a partly sectioned, fragmentary view of the tissue engagingmembers on an increased scale,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary edge view of tissue engaging members inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view thereof, and

FIGURE 6 is a partly sectioned, fragmentary view, on the scale of FIGURE3, of the tissue engaging members shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

In FIGURES 1 and 2, there .is shown a scissors-like clamp comprising twoarms 10 and 11 pivotally interconnected between their ends, as at 12, ina conventional 3,209,753 Patented Oct. 5,. 1965 manner. The arms 10 and11 have handles 13 and 14, respectively, at corresponding ends thereof.Adajcent the handle 13, the arm 10 has an offset portion 15 providedwith a series of transverse locking ridges 16. Adjacent the handle 14,the arm 11 has an offset portion 17 disposed to underlie the portion 15when the clamp is closed and provided with a series of locking ridges 18disposed so that, when the clamp is attached, and depending on theclamping pressure exerted, one or more of the two series of ridgesinterengage to lock the clamp. The interengaged ridges are readilydisengaged by slight, relative sidewise movement of the handles. Theclamp, as thus far described, is conventional.

In accordance with the invention, the other ends of the arms 10 and 11are provided with tissue engaging members 19 and 20, respectively, eachshown as generally circular in shape. The member 19 is concave while themember 20 is convex with respect thereto with the member 19 beingrelatively flatter so that there is a small central area of contact,when the members 19 and 20 are closed together, and a surroundingmarginal area in which the member 20 curves away fro-m the member 19 toprovide a constantly increasing clearance. The edges of the members 19and 20 are rounded. The arms 10 and 11 are resilient between the tissueengaging members 19 and 20 and the pivot 12.

In FIGURES 4-6, there is shown an embodiment of the invention in whichclamp arms 10A. and 11A are provided with tissue engaging members 19Aand 20A, respectively. These differ from the members 19 and 20 only inthat they are elongated, being shown as substantially rectangular.

In both embodiments, tissue engaging members are provided that, when inclamping relationship, have a relatively small central area of greatestholding pressure and a marginal zone wherein the holding pressureconstantly decreases towards the margins of the members. The size of thecentral area is theoretically a point in the case of the members 19 and20 and theoretically linear in the case of the members 19A and 20A but,in practice, may be larger. It is essential, however, that the centralarea be relatively small and that the tissue engaging members be withoutany sharp line of demarcation between such a central zone and thesurrounding tissue of the viscus to which the clamp is applied.

We claim:

1. In a clamp for gripping viscera, a pair of arms, each arm including ahandle at its rear end and a tissue engaging member attached to itsfront end, pivot means interconnecting said arms, and coacting lockingmeans carried by each arm interengaging when said members are inclamping engagement, the arms, between said members and said pivot,being resilient with the extremities to which said members are attacheddisposed towards each other, and said tissue engaging members beingsmooth surfaced and imperforate, the tissue engaging face of one memberbeing concave and the tissue engaging face of the other member beingconvex and dimensioned to seat within the thus established concavity,the concave face being relatively flatter than the convex face, and saidfaces establishing a central clamping zone and a marginal zone in whichthe clearance increases towards the margins of said members, each tissueengaging mem- 3 4 her projecting outwardly in all directions from thearm 2,645,013 7/53 Mathison 3263 extremity to which it is attached.2,695,616 11/54 Hansell 128-346 2. The clamp of claim 1 in which thecentral clamping 2,698,483 1/55 Berkowitz 81424 X zone is elongated andextends laterally with respect to OTHER REFERENCES the pan of arms. 5

KNY-Scheerer Co. Catalog, copyright 1914, page 2041 References Cited bythe Examiner relied upon (Item B/1317).

UNITED STATES PATENTS Ann. Surgery 1933, article entitled AnInter-Ringed 604 079 5/98 Record 81 1s Clamp pages 794-796 1,O07:824 1 1Trosper :::gi: 4 X 10 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

2,477,689 8/49 Feinbloom 81-15 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Examiner.

1. IN A CLAMP FOR GRIPPING VISCERA, A PAIR OF ARMS, EACH ARM INCLUDING AHANDLE AT ITS REAR END AND A TISSUE ENGAGING MEMB ER ATTACHED TO ITSFRONT END, PIVOT MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID ARMS, AND COACTING LOCKINGMEANS CARRIED BY EACH ARM INTERENGAGING WHEN SAID MEMBERS ARE INCLAMPING ENGAGEMENT, THE ARMS, BETWEEN SAID MEMBERS AND SAID PIVOT,BEING RESILIENT WITH THE EXTREMITIES TO WHICH SAID MEMBERS ARE ATTACHEDDISPOSED TOWARDS EACH OTHER, AND SAID TISSUE ENGAGING MEMBERS BEINGSMOOTH SURFACED AND IMPERFORATE, THE TISSUE ENGAGING FACE OF ONE MEMBERBEING CONCAVE AND THE TISSUE ENGAGING FACE OF THE OTHER MEMBER BEINGCONVEX AND DIMENSIONED TO SEAT WITHIN THE THUS ESTABLISHED CONCAVITY,THE CONCAVE FACE BEING RELATIVELY FLATTER THAN THE CONVEX FACE, AND SAIDFACES ESTABISHING A CENTRAL CLAMPING ZONE AND A MARGINAL ZONE IN WHICHTHE CLEARANCE INCREASES TOWARDS THE MARGINS OF SAID MEMBERS, EACH TISSUEENGAGING MEMBER PROJECTING OUTWARDLY IN ALL DIRECTIONS FROM THE ARMEXTREMITY TO WHICH IT IS ATTACHED.